Brown steady in net as Colorado Eagles claim victory

Netminder's 23-save effort helps Eagles take series

By Adam Dunivan Sports Writer

Posted:
11/24/2012 10:36:01 PM MST

The Colorado Eagles found themselves in a bad spot within the first minute of Saturday's series-closing game against Florida.

But in a building where defensive gems aren't necessarily the norm, the penalty kill units and otherwise were spot-on to help the Eagles to a second straight win, 4-1, and a series victory over the defending ECHL champs.

Beginning with a four-minute kill early in the first period at the Budweiser Events Center, the Eagles PK finished a perfect 6-for-6 and goalie Adam Brown benefited from having to face just 24 shots in his first action since Oct. 20.

The top line carried the scoring weight for the third straight night, as Michael Forney scored twice and Chad Costello added his eighth goal of the season, but with back-to-back wins nevertheless, they'll take that as something to address while riding a positive streak.

The whole squad felt good about the kill on this night, especially since they had given up three in a row Friday to allow the Everblades (7-7-1-3, 17) back into that contest.

"You can't speak enough about the penalty kill ... that's how you win games," said Forney, who now has 15 goals to lead the league. "You kill penalties, you score on the power play. We needed our goalie to be his best on that PK, and Brownie was tonight."

"If I was looking at one thing that motivated us throughout the game it was the first four-minute penalty kill," added head coach Chris Stewart. "It gave us momentum, it gave us confidence, and I think it helped us go through the game with confidence. The players were out to do an excellent job of getting into the passing lanes, blocking shots and doing the things necessary to be successful."

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The Eagles really only gave up the momentum in one stretch, and it was on a gaffe that silenced the entire building in the second period. Riley Nelson, in an attempt to send a puck back to another player to start the offensive breakout, threw a puck into his own net with 3:39 left in the frame, cutting a comfortable 2-0 lead into a one-goal game.

However, the Eagles backed their captain up with a huge goal before the end of the period, as Costello cashed in from the side of the net while Pat Nagle was down on the ice with just 1:33 left to make it 3-1.

Colorado was forced to kill off two more Florida power plays in the third period, and although the Everblades were able to produce some heavy artillery against Brown down the stretch, Trent Daavettila's 185-foot empty-netter on a clear off the dashers gave the Eagles the final blow.

Nelson's blunder wasn't anything to try and lighten up during the course of the game, but Brown certainly shook it off afterwards.

"It's just an unfortunate play, it just went off his stick funny and I probably should have been a bit more ready for it," Brown said. "Mistakes happen, no big deal. We got the win and that's what matters."

"For us to respond in the nature that we did was fun, and it was good for Nelson obviously but more importantly it was good for Adam Brown," Stewart said.

The rookie netminder was solid despite having been out of game action for more than a month. He only faced three shots in the first period -- and that included zero shots against during that 4-minute man-advantage just 37 seconds in.

After the Eagles had made it 1-0 on a Forney tip-in 7:49 into the game, Brown made a big pad save on a 2-on-1 breakaway about 5:30 into the middle stanza. The Eagles made that pay off on the other end at 5:48 with another strong shift from the league's three leading scorers, and Forney deposited another one past Nagle with a strong move in from the side of the cage.

For the series, the Costello-Jack Combs-Forney line produced nine goals and 21 points between them.

Daavettila has also been pretty hot with points in five straight, and he ended the night with another fluky goal. With Florida on the extra attack, Daavettila gained possession of the puck behind the Colorado net and flung a clearing pass off the boards in into the net sending the crowd into a tizzy.

Now, the Eagles go on the road for five straight looking to gain some traction in the Western Conference. A three-game series against Idaho begins Wednesday night.

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